Gotta wonder if Jerry decided, after the epic, all-time rendition that was 5/8/77, to put the Dew on the shelf for a while, as it was played only twice more in 77 and just once in 78, on this night. Jerry completely forgot that he was supposed to make the closing jam hotter than the first one, or he was just that psyched, cause he just absolutely laid into the middle jam with the trilling. Then he had to build it back up to another scorching peak, which almost equaled the first.

Other highlights, well, 1/2 Step, Let It Grow, and Playin' for sure. I don't have the issues with Jerry's singing that others seem to have. My main issue with most of 78 is the absence of creativity from Keith. Often he disappears in the mix altogether, leaving Jerry to carry the weight, and at other times, he's just pounding out chords. You get Jerry at his best, but you don't get the kind of interplay he had with Keith in 72-74 or that he would later have with Brent, Bruce, and Vince.

I have to admit, I can't quite understand all these five star ratings? I have to give this show a pre-'84, pre-coma overall below average rating because there are too many problems that don't seem to have been addressed in the other reviews about the show, this matrix, and the soundboard.

Most notably, Jerry's singing is awful tonight, which is understandable with the post laryngitis problems he had been fighting much of the year and the pressure he was under to perform. And no one mentions it? Hmm. But there are too many rose colored glasses and too much Cool Aid in these reviews. Even an average show (again, pre-'84) should have 'ol Jer singing reasonably well. These reviews should have at least a modicum of objectivity in them, not the slobber I so often see. Many laud over the Half Step but, Jerry's bad vocals get in the way of the superb playing. If you can listen past it, and want to give this evening five stars, hey, you're a better man than me. It's a free country. Personally, I'd rather partake in and steer newbies, the unenlightened, and fans searching for "The Sound" to more pristine versions. Other than the Dew, which Jerry just tears up and is the only one from '78, I've panned all his other songs.

So let's get to the first set's only two highlights - El Paso and Let It Grow. Bob vocally does an excellent job on each and the playing is exceptional. And a good SBD helps tremendously. Everybody is clear, clean, and well balanced. But the real standout from the first set is Let It Grow as many have reviewed correctly. It's a keeper folks. And Donna sounds good tonight, which is always a nice extra.

Then we have the meat of the second which everyone acknowledges: NFA > Dew, which is the only thing I've kept in the second. They are definitely a segued pair for the collection. But there are technical problems that need to be discussed for those who have the ability to fix them.

The biggest problem in this matrixed NFA is a huge AUD splice that interrupts the fun. The loss of SBD is only slightly noticeable in the Happy Jack version, being well spliced. So I grabbed the Happy Jack copy and spliced it to this Dew. With an added dose of reverb, the board NFA is so good, you don't notice the change in uploaded versions, which is rare. But, the SBD has a slight flutter in one channel (a few times the flutter invades both) about 5 1/2 minutes into NFA which has to be manually adjusted for each slight flutter for about a two minute stretch. It took an hour to individually enhance each small loss of volume for those two minutes, which was a pain. But it's worth it, if you're as serious about your collection as I am.

Saturday morning, 8AM. Bill Whitbeck and his date Meredith picked me up and we began partying. Drove from Norfolk,Va., to "CW" (Colonial Williamsburg) in his tan Ford Pinto, and when we arrived about 9-ish the parking lot was already half-full of die-hard NY, NJ, PA, New England and fans from all over. It was one big pre-show party. My stick-man, Bill, had attended W&M, graduating in '76 and knew lots of folks there, many whom I'd met over the years. We hooked up with Steve Wilkerson, Jim Puckett, Tom Puckett (No relation to Jim, just good friends). We were drinking some "cold ones" and toking off of a bong, right there in what the students call "The Drunken Gardens" (Sunken Gardens, according to the College), when I happened to notice that amid the assembled multitude of tie-dyed Freaks (My People!) there were an awful lot of students and their parents really dressed up, like Sunday-Go-To-Meeting clothes, suits, ties, formal dresses, etc. Well, needless to say, the entire DeadHead community "Threw Down" all day long, and twelve hours later when the show started, I was about ready to call it a night. When the band hit the stage the crowd erupted into pandemonium. The band picked up on the energy of the legion of fans and Tore The Roof Off The Sucker, to coin a phrase. Somewhere on the internet is a photo of Bill, Jim, and Tom(Puckett), which shows them standing pre-show talking to Bill. Jim is the one in the beautiful "Skull and Roses" Levi jacket, the emblem he created himself, multi-talented guy that he is, a regular Renaissance Man himself. (I was standing next to Tom Puckett, to the left, but am sure I was cut out of the photo since I was wearing a brown t-shirt with Zappa's face screen printed on the back! (Heh, heh) Well, long story short, the parents HIGHLY OBJECTED to the fact that the campus (established 1692 by King William and Queen Mary), and thought to be a bastion of conservatism, was "littered" with a legion of Hippy Freaks. Hence, no more Grateful Dead shows at the Hall. What a shame, it was the best place to "Have a big party with a band playing." Next year they played the Hampton Coliseum, which was at first a letdown (to me) after the relative freedom of the hall. For cryin' out loud,at the Hall, security was the campus police! Hey Now! Paisley Tom reporting

... of his alma mater, The College of William and Mary.

What great music has been produced in our 'Empire of Liberty.'

To me, the music of the Grateful Dead is musical frontier that has still not been passed, even these many years after Jerry's death.

Did you hear how pumped up he was during the opening 'half step' ???

This show was great, the weather was perfect, we drove down from Long Island with three very dear friends, enjoyed William and Mary Colonial Williamsburg, got ready and went to the Grateful Dead show and like they say There is NOTHING LIKE A GRATEFUL DEAD CONCERT.

Wow! I'm not normally a big fan of '78, but this is a scorcher of a show. One of the best of the year and you can tell the band is riding a wave of energy all the way through. Great stuff and well worth a listen. This is also a superb Matrix and has a strong "being there" quality to it.

B-A-L-L C-R-U-S-H-I-N-G Half Step! If you dig Spring '78 shows, this recording is best of this night that I have heard.

I just got down with '76 William and Mary shows last nite, and this one, wow. Kick Ass remastering job by this guy Miller. Almost every board with his name under it rocks! Although, I was listening to an audience of the '76 show, this show has a mirror finish. I used to have a tape of the Fox, 4/11/78, and I love that show. The quality tape I had was prestine, if I hooked it up to my computer, it would've sounded as good as this one. Exellent work my freinds! My respects to the "Hall"!

A great matrix of a great show. Starts off with an inspired half-step and doesn't let down. Highlights include LIG and Morning Dew. Only lowlight would be Donna's outburst in what is an otherwise exciting Around and Around. However her backing vocals on Bertha are very nice.

Probably a 4.5 stars, i rounded up.